Johnson Banks have designed a set of postage stamps that celebrate the last 60 years of British fashion.
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies KCVO (1909-2003) was born in Maida Vale. He became managing director of Mayfair couture house Lachesse in 1934. After World War II he opened his own fashion business in Savile row. Amies was the first major European fashion designer to venture into ready-to-wear and in 1955 received a royal warrant as dressmaker to the Queen. Other commissions have included clothing for the 1966 England World Cup squad and the 1972 GB Olympic squad and the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The outfit shown on the stamp dates from the late 1940s.
Sir Norman Hartnell KCVO (1901-1979) was born in Streatham. He opened his first couture house at 10 Bruton street, Mayfair in 1923.
The stamp shows an outfit created by Hartnell in the 1950s.
Granny Takes a tTrip was a boutique opened in February 1965 at 488 Kings Road in London’s Chelsea, by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse. The shop, which was acquired by Freddie Hornik in 1969, remained open until the mid-70s and has been called the ‘first psychedelic boutique in groovy London of the 1960s.’
The jacket shown on the stamp was designed by John Pearse using a Morris & Co. furniture fabric print called Golden Lily (1899).
Raymond ‘ossie’ Clark (1942-1996) was born in Warrington, Lancashire. He was a major figure in the swinging sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era. Clark is now renowned for his vintage designs by present-day designers and compared to the 1960s fashion greats Mary Quant and Biba. He has influenced many other designers, including Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui and Tom Ford.
The outfit shown on the stamp here dates from the late 1960s and features a print by Celia Birtwell.
